RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina regulators say in a long-anticipated analysis of fracking that despite clear public opposition, the natural-gas drilling technique can be done safely.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the state environment agency’s final report incorporates public comments but does not change the agency’s overall conclusions. The report was commissioned last year by the legislature.
The report says an industry analysis projects that North Carolina is not likely to become a site for extensive natural gas extraction for more than two decades. The American Natural Gas Alliance said in a recent report that the nation’s priority locations up to 2035 do not include North Carolina because the state’s underground reserves are unproven and comparatively puny.
Geologists estimate a 40-year supply is concentrated around Lee, Chatham and Moore counties.